Can you recall a 48 hour period when you DIDN’T have a Racer in your system? 
Said jealously, as I’ve been mostly dry since NYE. Resolution to not snore my wife out of bed every night.
Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale - brewed with 6 different malts. Nice hazy orange color, a really good blend of malts and hops - it is crisp without being bitter, caramel/toffee notes without being sweet. Nice start!
One more for tonight…Coronado Mermaid’s Red. A blend of roasted malts and Cascade hops. The hops are present right when it hits the tongue, and then you get a smoother caramel malt, with a hint of grapefruit. A little pine on the nose. I liked the Ballast Point a little better, but it is still nice.
ooh, mostly dry!?! that’s a toughie.
Drink the beer and just put on a breathe right nasal strip for bed!
Doesn’t do a damn thing for me. Sobriety and a humidifier going full blast are the only things helping, while I try and get back in better shape. Will have to limit my input on these threads to past experiences and snarky comments.
I’ll have to try the ballast point calico, never had it but certainly have seen it around for years!
I’m going shopping later today. I’ll definitely get into some Bear Republic “Red Rocket,” and also hope to find some Deschuttes Cinder Cone Red. After that … well, we’ll just see; that Ballast Point and Coronado do sound pretty good - I’ll have to look for them.
Here is my lineup:
Harpoon Leviathan - Imperial Red Ale
Lagunitas Censored (aka The Kronik)
North Coast Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale
Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale
Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster
Oskar Blues Gordon (they call it a hybrid imperial red and a double IPA)
Bell’s Amber Ale
Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale
Stone Levitation Ale
Ommegang Rare Vos (Amber Ale)
Rouge American Amber Ale
Bell’s Amber: When I hear the word beer - this is what I think of. No frills, tastes like great beer. This beer should be in that Miller Lite commercial “can I get a beer?” “you want one with taste or without?” “without” “ok, when you want taste, come back and I’ll give you a Bell’s Amber.” Lighter in color than the two from last night, but still a copper color. Roasted toffee/caramel with a dry finish. Very nice.
That was my go to in the early 90s. Been years since I have had it but will use this theme to re-visit.
J
Out buying 5 pounds of pork butt at the local butcher and popped into the neighboring liquor store that has a nice selection of beers. Needed to grab a red and saw this. Something new? Well yes and it happens to be brewed 10 minutes from my house. Add this to The Bruery and Bootleggers.
This is an imperial red. Can’t say I have tasted a great imperial red. This does match the name. It is big. Tons of malt coming through on the nose and front palate. The malt takes a pretty quick thump from the hops. I don’t know what the IBUs is but this is very bitter on the finish. Kind of dominates the finish. A good beer but not for everybody. They are doing a big to do at the brewery tomorrow so I may try to sneak away and taste a few.
My last tonight: Duck Rabbit Amber. A local NC brewery that makes a great milk stout. This is the same color and weight as the Bell’s, but different. A little herby, a bit of a metallic finish, a hint of sweetness…all 3 are minor detractors. Still a decent beer, but lowest on my list.
Sounds pretty interesting. I’ve noticed that most imperial reds are a bottle between malt (good) and hops (evil) - but I tend to like the results.
Blue Frog - Red Ale
Ugh. I did not like this. It was so sweet that I literally had trouble drinking it.
Almost bought one of those Blue Frog Red Frog’s tonight Brian, glad I didn’t. I have about 8 Ambers / Reds now but might not have enough time / liver capacity to get through them this week. Won’t stop me from trying!
Warming up with a Boont Amber as a refresher. Now I remember why I like this beer so much, lots of body, lots of depth, stays a complete session beer with well balanced maltiness and hops. Mmmmm…
Next up is Moylan’s “Irish Style Red Ale”
Really cereal driven. Not as roasted or caramelized as I might expect or hope. Also pretty sweet. This isn’t bad but it’s a little thick / sweet / flabby kind of. I think I prefer beer to be a little dryer and perhaps a hair more bitter though the sweetness is off enough to make it hard to say. Again, not bad, but I don’t need more of these…
Last night was Stone Leviathan Ale, which they said is an American Amber/Red Ale. I could see that there were some Amber qualities to it, but it was pretty much an IPA. A super well made beer, and am sure the IPA crowd would fawn over it, but was too hoppy for me. PS - massive head on this, from a pretty gentle pour.
